Biometrics

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Biometrics

Biometrics is a technology that can be defined as measurable physiological and / or behavioral characteristics, which can be utilized to verify the identity of an individual. Techniques used by this technology include: fingerprinting, retinal and iris scanning, hand geometry, voice patterns, and facial recognition. These techniques were initially used in high security systems, however their use is extending into a much broader range of applications. Such applications include physical or logical access control, retail point of sale or banking transactions, and use in automated border control is being looked at. With this new development many social and ethical questions arise. Primarily dealing with the individual rights of people. This paper will focus on presenting the technology used in biometrics. I will begin by giving a brief background on the development of this technology, I will then move to explain the techniques and methodologies used for verification. I will give examples of applications being developed and talk about their ethical impact in society. Lastly I will touch on the future of the technology and provide my thoughts on the common good of the applications.

Biometric Background

Most people tend to think of biometrics as a sci-fi futuristic technology that was developed in the late twentieth century computer age. But to everyone's surprise, the basic principles of biometric verification were understood and practiced thousands of years ago. Individuals were identified via distinct features such as scars, eye color, complexion, height and so on. Later in the nineteenth century, a peak interest in the area of criminal investigation prompted the development of fingerprinting as the methodology a...

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...cal and intuitive in use. We are beginning to see the integration of biometric capture devices into computer keyboards. We can expect to see them incorporated into notebook computers and PDA's as time moves on, making their presence almost common place among a wide range of digital computing devices. There is little doubt that few people who use digital devices will not come across biometrics in some form or other over the coming years. Who knows, there might also be potential to use existing multimedia components such as camera and microphone devices for biometric capture purposes where applicable. There are enough devices and varying methodologies to make it reasonable to deploy biometric authentication technology across the globe. However, all the social and ethical concerns should be understood in the careful planning and program management of this technology.

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